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More PWA to Ya! (Progressive Web Apps, Part 2)
Last time, we got into the nitty-gritty on how to make your web application into a Progressive Web Application (PWA to its friends). I promised we'd dig even deeper this time, and show you how to make your web app a little more 'native' on Android - and how to deal...
A Brief Introduction to Blockchain
At its simplest, a blockchain is a distributed database of transactions that are cryptographically linked to form an incorruptible chain. Transactions are grouped together at intervals to create a 'block.' Every new block depends on its ancestor block being unaltered....
More PWA to Ya! (Progressive Web Apps, Part 1)
It's project kickoff time, and you're having a conversation with your client about what form the application will take: Client: I'm thinking mobile app. Our users will definitely be using this on the go. Dev: Sure, we can do a native mobile- Client: Mind you, we'll...
Zen and the Art of Working with Internal Teams
I’ve had the pleasure of working with many internal development teams in my career in software development. For our company, working in partnership with internal development teams is, in fact, a common project type. Clients call on our particular services for any...
Digital Disruption and the Menswear Renaissance
Disruption has been the buzzword in tech for the last half a decade or so, and I thought it might be interesting to detail how disruption has personally changed my life as it simultaneously changed the fashion industry. First, let’s define a few terms: Ready to wear...
Music and AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Prior to the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927, live musicians accompanied motion pictures in movie theaters. After the integration of synchronized sound, live musicians were no longer necessary. Protesting this technological advancement that took away their jobs,...
Maintaining Your Application — It’s Like Owning A Cat
I may live to regret this analogy. But let’s consider this a PSA for the purpose of maintaining your software application . . . perhaps co-sponsored by your local ASPCA or Animal Rescue. I frequently find that clients think of their applications like a very heavy...
iOS 11: The Culling
Amid the OS updates rolled out last week, one of the iOS updates may have passed by the casual observer or novice application developer with little notice. iOS 11 no longer supports 32-bit applications. Technically, there’s no reason to not support 32-bit...
Azure Load Balancing: How to Scale Out VMs
Cloud Computing shines in a cost-benefit analysis; virtually unlimited resources are available at a moment’s notice, and resources must only be paid for if and when they are needed. Unlike dedicated servers, Cloud-based resources scale quickly & automatically to respond to peak loads. They can also provide fault tolerance via replication both within and between data centers. Understanding the pros and cons of the different approaches available to scale your app up is critical to long-term project success.
Long in the Tooth: What to Do with Aging Software
Software development has moved through several ages as both technical innovation and the cultural evolution driven by those technical innovations has moved from the early adopters through the late adopters and permeated our expectations of what technology is. But, now, we’re seeing a wave of projects driven solely by applications just getting long in the tooth.
When a Fixed Price is a Reasonable Option
I still run into a lot of companies that have the expectation that software development can be done on a fixed-price basis. They’re either still used to waterfall management style, or dealing with goods vendors, or, maybe a few are still running into software...
Net Neutrality Day of Action
July 12, 2017 is a Day of Action on #netneutrality — learn about the issues and how to contact the FCC and your congressional representatives to keep ISPs from being able to throttle or block content.